Cap support



April s, 1956 J. l. KAUFMAN CAP SUPPORT Filed May 17, 1954 4m e A mm m 0. M w

CAP SUPPORT Jacob Isadore Kaufman, Hull, Mass. Application May 17, 1954, Serial No. 430,017

2 Claims. (Cl. 223-84) The present invention relates to a support for caps, such as baseball caps, to hold them in shape during shipment and storage.

Baseball caps are normally made of cloth and it is desirable that they reach the ultimate buyer in unwrinkled condition.

According to the most practical method yet discovered baseball caps are folded for shipment and storage by pushing the back half in against the front half so that a number of caps may be nested front to back in a line. It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a cap support to support the front half of a cloth baseball cap in shape so that a number of caps may be packed in the usual way and not become crushed.

The cap support of the present invention is died out of a sheet of flexible material, such as cardboard, to provide a flat blank which is foldable into a half domeshaped support to be inserted into the front half of a baseball cap. The blanks are inexpensive and easily folded and secured in condition for use.

The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings of a preferred embodiment in which:

Fig. 1 is a rear elevation of the cap support of the present invention in unfolded condition;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the cap support in folded condition looking at it from the top;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the cap support in folded condition looking at it from the front and indicating its position in a baseball cap which is indicated in dash line; and

Fig. 4 is a perspective view as shown in Fig. 3 of the cap support but looking at it from the bottom.

Referring now to Fig. 1 of the drawings, the cap support of the present invention is died out of a flexible sheet of cardboard to form a blank comprising a base portion 11 and two wing portions 12a and 12b extending up from the base portion 11 respectively at the ends thereof. As indicated, the wing portions 12a and 12b are spaced apart with a central tongue portion 13 extending up from the base portion between the wing portions. The tongue portion 13 is separated from the adjacent wing portions 12a and 12]) by slits 14 and 15.

In the inner edge at the upper end of the wing portion 12a is an outwardly and upwardly directed slit 16 and in the outer edge at the upper end of the wing portion 12b is an inwardly directed slit 17. The slits 16 and 17 are provided to interlock and hold the cap support 10 in erected condition.

To erect the cap support 10 the upper ends of the wing portions 12a and 12b are drawn together and the upper end of the wing portion 12b is lapped over the upper end of the wing portion 12a. The upper ends of the wing portions are then moved across each other to engage the slits 16 and 17, as indicated at 18 in Fig. 2, and thus to lock the upper ends of the wing portions together. By

nited States Patent thus drawing the upper ends of the wing portions together to overlapping position, the base portion 11 is drawn into a curve as indicated in Figs. 3 and 4.

When the upper ends of the wing portions 12:: and 12b are thus drawn together, the tongue portion 13 is preferably bent over under the wing portions so as to be held against the underside of the upper ends of the wing portions by the spring of the material, as most clearly shown in Fig. 4. In this way the tongue portion 13 lends strength and support to the top of the cap support. 7

A baseball cap, as shown in dash line 20 (Figs. 3 and 4), is approximately a hemispherical shape, and therefore to support the front half of the cap as shown it is desirable that the cap support 10 be a half dome shape conforming as closely as possible to the shape of one-half of the cap. To this end the wing portions 12a and 12b are spaced apart a distance approximately equal to the height of the base portion. This causes the base portion to be curved in three segments-two below the wing portions and one at the center-when the upper ends of the wing portions are overlapped and thus provide a smooth curve. In addition, the upper ends of the wing portions are overlapped at a distance from the base portion approximately equal to the height of the base portion, which causes the base portion to be drawn into a substantially semi-circular curve.

As indicated in Fig. l, the bottom edge 21 of the base portion 11 is curved downwardly and the outside edges 22 and 23 of the wing portions 12a and 12b respectively are slanted inwardly toward the top. The amount of curvature of the bottom edge 21 and slant of the outside edges 22 and 23 are made such that, when the upper ends of the wings are overlapped, the plane across the outside edges 22 and 23 is substantially perpendicular to the bottom edge 21 of the base portion. In other words, the cap support 10in erected condition is half dome shaped closely approximately a half hemisphere.

In practice the bottom edge 21 of a base portion 11, which is about eleven inches long, is curved on a radius of about two feet and the slant of the edges 22 and 23 is about 60 relative to the base, but it will be appreciated that these measurements may be varied without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

To use the cap support 10 of the present invention, it is folded as above described and inserted inside a baseball cap 20 at the front of the cap with the top of the support at the top of the cap and the botom edge 21 of he base portion 11 adjacent or tucked inside a sweat band 24 in the cap.

The above description is of a preferred embodiment of the present invention and it will be understood that various changes and modifications may be made in its structure and uses without departing from the spirit of the invention, the scope of which is set forth in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A cap support comprising a flat cardboard blank which may be erected into a half-dome shape and placed within a cap, said cap support comprising a base portion, a pair of wing portions and a central tongue portion between the wing portions, said wing and tongue portions forming upward extensions of said base portion approximately co-extensive in height, said wing portions being tapered toward their respective tops, one of said wing portions having an outwardly extending slit on its inner edge near its top and the other of said wing portions having an inwardly directed slit on its outeredge near its top, said slits being capable of engagement with each other, said engagement locking the said tops of the wing portions together and holding said cap support in said erected shape when the said tops of said wing portions are brought together and overlapped over said tongue portion.

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2. In the combination as set forth in claim 1, said base portion having a convexly curved bottom edge, the outside edges of said wing portions being slanted inwardly and upwardly toward their respective tops and. being rounded off at their respective tops and bottoms, and the said slits having entrances which flare 'into the respective edges of the tops ofthe wing portions on which they are formed so as to facilitate said engagement of said slits.

References Citedjn the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Rodgers Dec. 25, 1917 Mullinix May 1, 1928 Turchin Jan. 9, 1945 Ubin Feb. 20, 1951 Hoeflich July 6, 1954 

